


We're Golden

by This_is_Riri



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Family Feels, Family Issues, Friendship/Love, Graduation, Human, Teen Years
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-08-17 13:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16517741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_is_Riri/pseuds/This_is_Riri
Summary: This fic was formerly known as Our Life Together.Bonnie and Stefan met when they were babies, back when puking on a kid meant you wanted to be friends, and he was her longest relationship.Disclaimer: I don't own anything!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will obviously revolve around Bonnie and Stefan's friendship and everything they are going through today as well as what they went through in the past.

Bonnie hated this.  
  
She could be at home right now watching reruns of Boy Meets World, but instead she's at this party of a classmate she barely even knows watching Stefan flirt with Elena Gilbert from a corner she really hoped kept her hidden.  
  
She doubted anyone would spot her though. She wasn't exactly the type of person to attract attention, but she wore the hoodie she stole from Stefan a few years ago just in case and leaned further into the wall kinda hoping it would swallow her up.  
  
She was giving him five minutes and then she would leave with or without him. They weren't supposed to be here, but he snuck into her room and begged her to go with him, "We'll stay for two hours tops, Bon".  
  
They've been here for two and a half hours and between her grams and his parents, she was certain they'd be in a shitload of trouble when they got home.  
  
"Are you talking to yourself?" a voice said next to her and her glasses must've been foggy and her hearing bad because this person couldn't be talking to her, could they?  
  
"You". She turned her head then and adjusted her glasses to get a better look at the person now standing next to her.  
  
"Are you talking to me?"  
  
Matt Donovan. He was one of Stefan's friends. She never really hung out with any of Stefan's friends other than the occasional forced lunches at the cafeteria where they barely noticed her except when Stefan was talking about what they'd gotten up to that week like it was hot news.  
  
They all knew her as one thing though.  
  
"You're Stefan's friend right?", and she swore anyone who didn't know her thought that was her name.  
  
"Bonnie".  
  
"Right, hey I'm Matt" he said and extended his hand for her to shake. And she swore if she had to shake one more of Stefan's friend's hands from them repeatedly introducing themselves she would cut her own hand off.  
  
"I know who you are. I have lunch with you guys on Mondays and Tuesdays" she said looking at the outstretched hand that Matt finally dropped to his side.  
  
"Right" he said.  
  
"And I wasn't...talking to myself, I mean" she said.  _Just contemplating how to kill my best friend and make it look like an accident._

  
He nodded. But he didn't believe her.  
  
"So...are you having a good time?" He asked and she wondered why he was still standing there trying to make awkward conversation with her.  
  
She didn't exactly have a welcoming look, or personality to be honest. She had exactly one friend she made when she was a baby, back when life was easy and puking on a kid meant you wanted to be friends.  
  
That wasn't the case these days though and she didn't have it in her to try and make another friend.  
  
It was too late anyway, but she might as well make small talk before making her graceful exit.  
  
"No. I wanna leave, but that thing is my ride so I'm kinda stuck" she said and Matt choked on his drink from the laugh that slipped through. She actually smiled at that, but only a little bit. She wasn't about to get crazy.  
  
"If you really want to leave I could give you a ride home" he offered. She rose a skeptical eyebrow at that and just looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm still trying to figure out why you're even talking to me let alone offering me a ride home" she said and he shrugged.  
  
They heard Elena giggle from across the room and playfully shove Stefan away from her with her left hand only to have him grab onto it and keep it in place against his chest.  
  
Bonnie rolled her eyes and decided not to question Matt anymore.  
  
"Sooo...let's go" she said and pulled out her phone to send out a text.  
  
**I'm going home. Gonna leave my window open.**  
  
She followed Matt to his car while her phone buzzed in her hand moments later.  
  
_Why are you leaving?_  
  
"This son of a...." She bit her tongue. She wasn't gonna go there, she loved Mama Lily way too much to call her the B word.  
  
**WHY?! Because you ditched me for a girl you barely even like.**  
  
_I like her._  
  
**Whatever Stefan.**  
  
He didn't.  
  
He wanted to like her because she was hot and popular and it made sense for the quarterback and lead chearleader to be dating because high school. But he didn't.  
  
She turned her phone off and got in the car.  
  
"So, you and Stefan have been friends for a long time, huh?"  
  
So they were continuing with the awkward conversation then. Good to know.  
  
"Our whole lives" she said with a ghost of a smile as she gave him directions to her house.  
  
"Were your parents friends?"  
  
"No. We met at daycare when we were one, after I puked on him".  
  
"Gross" Matt said and she shrugged. Everyone says gross at that story, but it was their story so she really didn't care and also, because of her family situation, Stefan was technically her longest relationship.  
  
They drove up her street a minute later and she pointed out her house to him.  
  
"Thanks for the ride" she said once he parked and she opened the door to leave.  
  
"You said before you didn't know why I was talking to you" he said and she stopped with her body halfway out the car. She didn't turn around though. She just wanted to listen to what he had to say.  
  
"I was curious. I see you all the time at school with Stefan, but I've never really talked to you and I was curious about what you were like" he said and she could feel his eyes burning holes on the back of her head. "And I think you're pretty cool, Bonnie".  
  
She got out then and finally turned around to face him. She wasn't surprised. She was a mystery to them and the reason why Stefan was friends with her was like a puzzle they couldn't solve.  
  
So she wasn't surprised that he was curious. She wasn't even offended that he didn't talk to her just to get to know her. So she gave him a smile, just like he wanted.  
  
"Thanks for the ride" she said again and closed the door. She turned around and walked up her driveway, praying to God that grams didn't notice she was gone.

* * *

  
The snoring woke her up the next morning and she groaned into her pillow before reluctantly opening her eyes.  
  
Her room was already drenched in sunlight and she was scared to check the time. She was lucky though. Grams hadn't caught her sneaking back in last night, which was half the battle.  
  
But unfortunately they weren't in the clear yet.  
  
She put on her glasses and grabbed the pillow to toss it at the source of her current misery because she really didn't want to be awake right now.  
  
And if she couldn't sleep, neither could he.  
  
"Ow!" Stefan groaned from next to her bed when the pillow hit his head. He was sleeping on the blow up mattress she got him two summers ago after the first time they decided it would be a bright idea for them to sneak out to a concert and he had to sleep on the hard floor.  
  
Looking down at him now Bonnie expected him to wake up, but instead the bastard used the pillow and turned on his side before resuming his snoring.  
  
"Nope" she said and jumped on top of him, because apparently she wasn't above that and that woke him up.  
  
"Ow! Fuck Bonnie that hurt!" He groaned as she sat up next to him and leaned against the bed.  
  
"It was supposed to hurt since the pillow clearly didn't work. Plus you were snoring and I couldn't get back to sleep" she said and adjusted her glasses.  
  
"So your solution was to jump on me" he said and she shrugged. _Obviously_.  
  
"Woke you up didn't it?"  
  
He groaned again and finally sat up too, accepting defeat.  
  
"What time did you get in?" She asked and he tried to count back the hours in his head. "About an hour after you left, maybe at three. What time is it now?" He asked.  
  
"I haven't checked" she said and recognised the look of fear in his eyes.  
  
This was the moment that would determine whether or not they got away with it. It was a system they developed since that first time they snuck out and got caught. If they made it through the night and could wake up just early enough not to raise any suspicion, they were good. But if not...  
  
"Maybe it's still early" he said hopefully and she pointed outside her window. "Have you seen the sun outside?"  
  
They jumped then at the sound of a knock on the door.  
  
"Are you two gonna hide in there forever or are you actually gonna come down for lunch?" Damon asked through the door and Bonnie turned to Stefan with frightened eyes.  
  
"He didn't really say lunch, did he?" She asked.  
  
"Yes. Yes I did. So you two might as well come out and face the music" He answered. Bonnie really hated that Damon still had two weeks of summer vacation left while they had to go back to school tomorrow.  
  
Now they had to see that stupid satisfied smirk on his face for the next two weeks before he had to go back to college.  
  
Another thing. Stefan clearly didn't account for family sunday while coming up with his diabolical plan to sneak out to a party in the middle of the night and now that it hit her she was giving him some serious side eye.  
  
"Don't look at me like that when you forgot too" he said and got on his feet. "Now come on". He grabbed her hand and pulled her up too before they went to open the door.  
  
And there Damon was just standing there with that stupid smirk on his face. She swore that thing was glued on.  
  
"Welcome to your memorial" he said before Bonnie flipped him the bird as they brushed past him and walked down the hallway.  
  
All too soon they were standing by the sliding door that led to Bonnie's backyard where they could see Grams, Mama Lily and Uncle Sep sitting on the picnic table just waiting for them.  
  
"Oh, hey kids" Lily greeted them with a bright smile on her face when she spotted them just standing there and waved them over.  
  
Bonnie dragged her feet forward while Stefan followed closely behind her. Hiding. Like a pussy.  
  
Mama Lily looked way too happy to see them considering they knew that she knew that they snuck out last night. They all knew.  
  
Damon had a big mouth. And honestly that should've been their first clue as to what was about to happen. The second should've been seeing all their favorite foods on the table once they sat down. Stefan between his mom and Grams and Bonnie between Damon and Uncle Sep who, bless his soul, was a man of very few words, but gave her a sympathetic smile all the same.  
  
"So how'd you sleep babies?" Grams asked and Bonnie gulped nervously before staring pointedly at Stefan until he answered.  
  
"We slept fine, Grams. Thanks" he said before digging into his food after grams insisted on dishing for them.  
  
That's when the alarm bells went off in their heads. Sheila Bennett never dished food for them. She was more of a if you've got hands use 'em type of lady.  
  
But still they didn't say anything except answer the random questions they were asked until lunch was over and the table was cleared.  
  
"Okay. Now to hand out punishments" Lily said and clasped her hands on top of the table after making them sit back down when they tried to leave to go do the dishes.  
  
"Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?" Grams asked and they shook our heads, no, too scared to actually say anything since Grams wasn't above giving them an ass whooping for talking back.  
  
"Okay, so you two know the drill. No TV, no cellphones, no laptops, basically no piece of technology of any kind other than the one you'll be using at school or at the library to do your school work for the next two weeks" Lily said.  
  
"No detours after school, no friends and since this is your third offense we've decided to add a bonus punishment. So for the next two weeks, except for at school...No Stefan" Grams said and Bonnie just sat there in a state of shock.  
  
"No Bonnie" Lily said.  
  
"But mom-"  
  
"No Bonnie!" She snapped this time and Bonnie knew they were serious. "Your punishments come into effect tomorrow morning so make what's left of this day count kids".

* * *

  
They laid on her bed side by side, staring at the ceiling.  
  
_The walls were really thin and she could hear her parents yelling again. That was the first time Stefan could hear them too and she wondered if they forgot that he came over for a play date._  
  
_"Does that happened a lot?" He asked. His sports car was just laying there now forgotten and she hadn't noticed that hers was too until he asked that question._  
  
_Her parents were really good at keeping up appearances when there were people around so she often wondered if the yelling was all in her head, but now he could hear it too, which told her two things._  
  
_Either they really did forget, or you didn't really count as a person at five years old._  
  
_When she didn't answer Stefan took her hand and pulled her onto the bed. They just layed there side by side for a moment and she didn't realise she was mumbling until she felt him squeeze her hand and say it wasn't her fault._  
  
_"You don't know that" she whispered. Her parents used to be happy, she knew that from all the stories their friends would tell her whenever they came to visit, but ever since she was born all she knew was the fighting behind closed doors and it just got worse over the years._  
  
_Stefan said it wasn't her fault that they were fighting, but she wasn't so sure._  
  
_"You wanna play a game?" he asked and sat up suddenly._  
  
_"I don't know, Stefan"._  
  
_"Come on, please" he said and pulled her arm so she could sit up too. "Okay so my mom always says that whenever I'm feeling scared, you know because of all the monsters under my bed..."_  
  
_She nodded. Monsters were no joke. She had them too, but hasn't figured out how to chase them away yet._  
  
_"...anyway she said that as long as I stayed on the bed I was safe and they couldn't hurt me"._  
  
_"This doesn't really sound like a game" she said, skeptical and he sighed because she was apparently missing the point._  
  
_"Okay it's not, but as long as you're on this bed the monsters can't hurt you" he said and squeezed her hand again._  
  
_"Will you be here too? I think it's better when there's two of us" she said. She realised that she couldn't hear her parents as clearly when Stefan talked to her and he nodded._  
  
_"Yeah, I won't leave you alone" he reassured her with a smile before they laid back on the bed._  
  
"Do you still remember the first time we did this?" he asked and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, wondering if he was having the same memory.  
  
Her parents had moved out a few months later and asked Grams to stay with her so she didn't have to move around a lot. They said it would give her some stability, which was a load of crap because that ship had already left the harbor, sailed the ocean and sank like the Titanic.  
  
But who needed stability right?  
  
She felt Stefan squeeze her hand and actually turned her head to smile at him. "I didn't know you were that smart at five years old" she said, which made him laugh.  
  
"I'm gonna try and not feel offended by how surprised you sounded just now" he said and she shrugged, but her smile got bigger.  
  
"So how was the party? Was flirting with Elena Gilbert worth the punishment?" she asked and fully turned on her side so she was facing him. He did the same.  
  
"No" he said and she waited for him to elaborate. He didn't. "Matt said he drove you home last night".  
  
"He did" she replied and didn't elaborate either. Two could play this game.  
  
They didn't say anything for a while after that and went back to staring at the ceiling. Bonnie actually forgot that he was even holding her hand until he tugged on it to get her attention again.  
  
"So what do you want to do with our last few hours of freedom?" He asked and she shrugged. She didn't want to do anything, except maybe eventually go and watch reruns of Boy meets World.  
  
But for now..."I just wanna stay here".  
  
He nodded and they were quiet again.  
  
"Do you think it's safe to go and get some ice cream from the kitchen?" She whispered after a moment scared that if she spoke any louder they might hear her.  
  
"You should check".  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because you're the one who wants ice cream".  
  
That wasn't the point. The point was he was gonna eat it too.  
  
But she crawled out of bed anyway and walked to the door. She was about to open it when she heard footsteps and voices in the hallway and ran back to the bed.  
  
Stefan was suddenly sitting up straight on the bed so she knew he heard them too, but when the door didn't open moments later she figured they were just passing through, probably heading for the bathroom or something.  
  
She wasn't taking any chances though as she climbed on the bed again.  
  
"On second thought, I think it's best to just keep the monsters away".


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you guys know. This story switches POVs between Bonnie and Stefan.
> 
> This is Stefan's POV.

Stefan was never gonna listen to Tyler again.

He actually hadn't planned on going to his party, but he kept calling and pestering him all night about it until he caved.

But he wasn't gonna go alone, no. Not when he had a best friend he could drag along with him, and eventually get caught with.

He groaned then and stopped pacing as the frustration got to him because they did get caught and they were now forced to stay away from each other. So he couldn't go to Bonnie's house this morning to pick her up like he always did.

Instead all he could do was stand around by the school entrance and wait for her to get there, but she was cutting it pretty close.

He looked up from his watch and scanned the school grounds again, but there was no sign of her. He spotted someone else though.

Elena Gilbert.

He caught her staring at him as Caroline tried to talk to her. She waved and he sighed before waving back. He really hoped she wouldn't go over there.

Bonnie was right. He didn't really like her.

Not like he was supposed to anyway. That was made abundantly clear after flirting with her for half the night at that party after Tyler begged him to give her a chance because she liked him and it 'made sense'.

But Elena wasn't exactly his type of person. Sure she was pretty and smart and a generally good person, but she kinda tried way too hard not to taint her reputation of being the 'perfect' person their peers looked up to, and he wasn't into it.

He liked getting a little messy sometimes.

"Hey Stefan" Elena greeted, suddenly standing in front of him and he blinked. He didn't even notice her walk over and he cursed himself for not escaping while he still had the chance.

"What are you doing standing here by yourself?" She asked and he shrugged before stealing a glance at his watch.

"Just waiting for Bonnie" he said. He could see the confusion in her eyes as she tried to remember who that was and he gave her a second to get there on her own.

"Oh! Your friend we were talking about last night, the one that eventually left the party?" She asked and he wondered if he imagined the edge in her voice.

"Yeah".

"You know, you didn't have to leave the party just because she did".

He did. He absolutely did, because not only did he listen to Tyler Lockwood, but he ditched Bonnie after dragging her to that stupid party. That stupid party where he didn't even have a good time because he listened to Tyler Lockwood and made Bonnie feel bad.

Her face fell for a second when he told her that, but she recovered quickly and smiled up at him anyway.

"Well, I had a really good time with you" she said and he nodded. He couldn't bring himself to say the same thing.

"Am I late?"

They both turned to see Bonnie hunched over next to them, a little out of breath. She looked a mess too, her curls were wilder than usual, her clothes were a little wrinkled and she wasn't wearing her glasses.

_Did she run here?_

"No you're fine, but are you okay?" Elena asked while Stefan examined her still to see if she was okay.

"I'm fine. Just had a rough morning" she said a little out of breath. "How are you guys?"

"Fine. Are you wearing contacts?" He asked when she rubbed her eyes. She hated those things, said they were itchy and uncomfortable. Also she hated the idea of sticking something in her eye.

"Last night Grams gave me an alarm clock. A whole alarm clock! That thing is **so** **loud** it almost made me fall out of the bed this morning from the fright it gave me and when I tried to turn it off I accidently knocked it off the night stand and it took my glasses down with it!" she ranted in frustration before rubbing her eyes again. "Anyway, Grams and I tried looking for my other pair, but apparently it grew legs so I got stuck wearing these things". She rubbed again.

"Why didn't you just use your cellphone?" Elena asked and Bonnie looked at her like she was stupid.

Here's the thing, Bonnie wasn't a very nice person when her emotions were running high like this. Or when she was just feeling cranky, or annoyed, or angry...or just generally awake...and Stefan could tell she was about to go off on Elena.

"Don't you think-!"

"Actually Bon you left your glasses in my locker remember" he cut her off before she could completely lose it. She turned to him for a second and the light bulb went off in her head. 

"Oh right because I didn't have room in mine" she said and he nodded. Bonnie was also really forgetful. He used to make it work in his favor to get her to do stuff she wouldn't usually do and just claim that she forgot.

She did not appreciate it when she found out.

"Well let's go get 'em. I gotta take these things out of my eyes before class" she said and dragged him towards the door

"See you later, Stefan" Elena called out as they walked away and he waved back before walking inside with Bonnie.

* * *

They were almost out the door and heading to the cafeteria for lunch when their English teacher, Mr. Davis, asked him to stay behind.

When Stefan turned to look at Bonnie she encouraged him to stay and promised to save him a seat before walking out the door.

Once she was gone he turned around again to face his teacher, seriously hoping he wasn't in trouble because he didn't usually talk to teachers, and they didn't usually talk to him, which was fine, but now left him thinking that the only reason they'd talk to him was because he was in trouble.

He wasn't.

He realized this when Mr. Davis handed him the paper he wrote last semester which required them to write about the hardships they've faced in their lives and all he could remember was that year when they were five years old. When he read Bonnie bedtime stories to help her sleep.

It started a few weeks after her parents left. When she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming for them to come back and not abandon her, but they never did.

Stefan hated that year, but he hated her parents even more for making her feel like she wasn't enough when really she was everything.

He never knew about her nightmares though until she slept over at his house after Grams was admitted to hospital because of her blood pressure. When he caught her watching Boy meets world in the living room in the middle of the night and she told him how much she related to Shawn.

"He has shitty parents too" she said.

That was the first time she didn't blame herself for them leaving like she usually did. Because there was Shawn, and she knew it wasn't his fault either.

But there was only so much Boy Meets World to watch though so he read to her that night to help her sleep and he kept reading to her every day for a year.

That wasn't his hardship though, it was hers, which is why he never wanted to write this paper, but she begged him to. She said that her parents leaving affected him just as much as it did her, which meant this was his story too and she didn't stop pestering him until he wrote about it.

And now Mr. Davis was asking if he's ever considered being a writer, and no, no he hasn't. He wasn't going to consider it now either because there was already a plan in place for his future and he wasn't about to mess with the plan.

There would be no messing with the plan.

"I really think you could go far if you considered it. Especially if you kept writing like this" he said and Stefan just looked confused.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Like it means something to you".

Stefan walked to the cafeteria in a daze after his conversation with Mr. Davis and almost didn't hear Tyler calling his name from down the hallway. He was still holding onto his paper and stopped to quickly slide it into his backpack when Tyler walked up to him, but apparently it wasn't fast enough.

"Whoa, since when are you an A+ student, Salvatore?" he asked in his usual condescending tone and Stefan had to bite his tongue to get through this conversation.

"It's just a paper" he responded in a clipped tone before continuing his walk to the cafeteria. Tyler fell into step with him and he internally groaned in frustration because Tyler was what Bonnie frequently called an asshole. She said it behind his back, to his face, it really didn't matter and he was inclined to agree with her. But he had a higher tolerance for Tyler since he was on his team and because he was close friends with Matt.

"So how was the party?"  Tyler asked, pulling him from his thoughts. "Did you and Elena..." he lifted his eyebrows suggestively and Stefan sighed.

"Nothing happened. I got grounded so it wasn't even worth it".

"But you're eighteen, you can't get grounded".

"I don't turn eighteen for a few more months, Tyler.."

"Semantics"

"...and even if I was it wouldn't change anything. Not in my house anyway".

Tyler then pointlessly kept bitching about how he should be his own man and not take this 'crap' from his parents the rest of the way to the Cafeteria and Stefan tuned him out for the most of it until they got to their table and he took his usual seat next to Bonnie, because it was a Monday and she was contractually bound to have lunch with them on Mondays and Tuesdays.

But he'll get into that later.

Matt was saying something about giving her a ride home if she'd like, and he didn't think she was listening until she looked up from her tray and said "ask me again in two weeks" and he gave her a baffled look she shrugged off when she looked at him.

_What was happening?_

"What took you so long, Stefan?" Elena asked from her seat across from him. "Mr. Davis just wanted to talk about my paper".

"It's the first day of school why is he giving you a paper? Unless...wait am I missing something?!" Caroline started freaking out on Bonnie's left and Bonnie reached back and started rubbing her back to soothe her.

"Calm down. It was last semester's paper" she said and Caroline relaxed a little bit. She looked at everyone around the table and assured them she was okay. Caroline was neurotic, it was her thing and they understood.

"Why is he only giving it back to you now?" Caroline asked looking at him and he dropped his gaze like he always did before a lie.

"I guess he forgot about it" he said and no one caught on, well except for Bonnie who was giving him her 'we're talking about this later' look. He hated that look. Things never ended well for him when she gave him that look.

"He got an A+ for it" Tyler pointed out, breaking the silence. Because why not right?, and Stefan internally groaned again.

"Really? Stefan that's great" Elena said enthusiastically.

"No, Elena. I said he got an A+".

"Atleast someone is" Bonnie mumbled and took a bit of her sandwich.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked barely containing his anger. Tyler was a loose canon and it didn't take much to piss him off. Unfortunately for Stefan, Bonnie didn't give a fuck so he dug his elbow into her side and she jumped slightly from the nudge.

They were already in trouble and really didn't need any more.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned to Tyler. "Nothing".

"Look, I could get a good grade if I wanted".

"Good for you".

Tyler was about to respond when the bell went off and they had to go to class, effectively ending their argument before it escalated any further.

* * *

Stefan walked out of his last class of the day and found Bonnie leaning on the opposite wall in the hallway waiting for him.

"Hey" she said and pushed herself off the wall to walk in step with him as they headed for the exit.

"Hey".

They made it out the door in silence until Bonnie turned to face him and he did the same. She had her thinking face on, with her eyes squinted behind her glasses as she looked up at him.

"So...A+, huh?"

"Don't start-"

"I know I know. We don't mess with 'The Plan'" she said putting air quotes around 'The plan' like she always did because she didn't approve of it. "But Stefan do you really want to run your family's business?"

He didn't.

His father started the advertising agency as a kid and it grew and expanded beyond what anyone ever imagined. But that was his father's passion. It's why he came to America from Italy when he was their age, so he could achieve his passion. And he did, which is why Stefan admired him so much.

But they didn't have the same passion.

He also didn't know what he wanted to do with his life which is why he agreed to this plan and never looked back. Then somewhere along the line he figured if he convinced himself that this was what he wanted then it would eventually be true.

So he dropped his gaze before his lie, "I do".

"Wanna try that again?" She asked. "Look Stefan, you don't have to run your dad's company if you don't want to. Damon doesn't have to".

"That's because Damon knows what he wants to do with his life so someone has to do it" he said defending his decision again. If he had a dollar for every time they've had this argument then he'd have enough money to open his own company.

"You do too! You're just in denial because you don't want to let your dad down" she started, "Stefan you are a great writer, and that's because you put your heart and soul into it. I mean, I cry every time I read your journal and-"

"You read my journal?!" He asked in shock and a little taken aback.

"You keep it at my house! What else am I supposed to do?!"

"Not read it?! Bonnie the whole reason I asked you to keep it was so Damon wouldn't read it".

"And he doesn't! Besides, there's nothing in there that I don't know anyway it's just written more eloquently in your journal" she justified and he rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm taking my journal back" he said and walked to his car.

"This conversation isn't over, Stefan Salvatore!" He heard her yelling behind him as he got in his car.

He waved at her from the driver's seat as he pulled out of the parking lot and looked through the rearview mirror to see her still standing at the entrance of the school with a pissed off look on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie's POV

It was a week and a half into their prison sentence and Bonnie honestly didn't think things could get any worse. But as she stood frozen in the middle of her living room looking at the two people sitting on the couch in front of her she realised that, things could in fact get worse...much much worse.

In hindsight she realised she should've known something was up when she got home to find her grams already there when she usually stubbornly worked an eight to five at her herb shop every day,  even though she didn't have to after they forced her to hire someone to help her. Then again, Grams never could fully trust anyone with something she built and nurtured herself.

But today she did, and she was sitting on the couch looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something.

The words wouldn't come though as Bonnie stood there staring at her estranged mother, wondering what she was doing here.

The last time she saw both of her parents was six years ago on her 12th birthday when she chose to cut them off completely.

They were selfish and couldn't be civil for one **stupid** day because they were so wrapped up in their own problems that they didn't even notice her cut her own wrist with the knife they used to cut the cake just to get them to look at her.

To **_see_** her.

Stefan was the only one who noticed. But then again Stefan noticed everything about her, and he led her to the bathroom where he quietly cleaned the wound and wrapped it up.

They sat there for a while and he just let her cry on his shoulder until Grams came looking for them. She found them sitting there on the bathroom floor with Stefan's arm around her shoulder and when she noticed her bandaged wrist she rushed inside and knelt down in front of them with a worried look on her face, asking them what happened, but Stefan only said one thing...

_"They have to leave"._

That had been the last straw, and Grams made them stay away. For six years they stayed away, and now she was here sitting on their couch, looking at her with tears clouding her vision.

"Hello Bonnie" she finally whispered.

The sound of her voice is what broke her, and suddenly it felt like the walls were closing in on her and she couldn't breathe, so for the sake of her own sanity she turned around and walked out the front door.

She was breaking the rules by leaving, but she didn't care. She had to breathe and if she stayed there she knew Abby would suck the life out of her all over again.

* * *

She ended up at the grill drinking away her youth when a certain blonde football player was suddenly standing in front of her from the other side of the bar, looking at her expectantly.

She scanned her surroundings to see if there was anyone else around. Nope, it was just her...and maybe a few kids playing pool on the opposite side of the grill. It was the middle of the day on a Wednesday so not much was going on apparently, which she guessed explained why he was just standing there staring at her.

"When did you start working here?" She asked when he just continued to stare and he shrugged.

"During the summer. I wanted to do something useful, and be able to take care of myself, you know?" He said and she nodded, but kept herself from asking what he meant by that.

It wasn't exactly the conventional response she thought she'd get from someone like him, if anything she thought he'd say something like he just needed some extra spending money. But the way it sounded was more like this was money he actually needed to survive.

And for the second time since she's started interacting with Matt, she wondered what his deal was.

"So, what are you doing here? I thought you and Stefan were grounded" he said and she groaned miserably, burying her head in her hands because in the 30 minutes she's been here it finally sunk in that this could possibly get her into even more trouble with her grams.

"That bad, huh?"

"'Catastrophically' bad, 'drowning my sorrows' bad" she said and took another swig of her drink.

"I can see that. I'm curious about your drink of choice though...chocolate milk?"

Okay so she may have exaggerated a bit before...but still.

"I'm living life on the wild side, Matty, trust me" she said flatly and finished off her third glass of chocolate milk.

_That should do it._

When she looked up from her cup she found him staring at her again and tilted her head a bit, sightly confused "what?"

"Nothing it's just that...my sister is the only person that calls me Matty" he said.

"Oh sorry I-"

"No it's okay, I like it when you say it".

He made her smile again, and for a split second she could forget that Abby was back and that her life was about to get flipped upside down again.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked when she went quiet for too long and she shook her head.

"No, I don't really want to burden you with my parental issues".

"Well my mom is the biggest flake I know. Disappears for days at a time and only ever comes back when she needs money or when one of her boyfriends dumps her...so whatever it is, I might be able to relate to what you're going through".

She didn't expect him to tell her all that and now she kinda felt guilty because she **really** pegged him wrong, but still she found herself wanting to know more so before she could change her mind she found herself asking, "What about your sister?"

He leaned against the counter then and was suddenly closer, almost as if he was about to tell her a secret and she had to mentally tell herself not to lean away, no matter how blue his eyes were up close.

"She's at Witmore, but I don't see much of her either so..." he shrugged.

"But you miss her" she said and he nodded, but didn't say anymore. She closed her eyes for a second, her vision a little blurry from behind her glasses and when she opened them again she could see the bumps starting to appear on the back of her hands.

She leaned back against the chair then and hid her hands under the counter that separated them, praying to God that it didn't show on her face.

"So...what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked and looked a little worried. That's what she assumed anyway from the sound of his voice seeing as she couldn't really see his face clearly right now.

"Bonnie".

Well crap.

She had her head in her hands again and felt nauseous as her stomach flipped and twisted. She felt Stefan's hand on her back the next second and he was yelling, but she couldn't focus on what he was saying.

She didn't have to focus though to know what he was yelling about. She didn't have to because she knew exactly what she was doing when she came here. She wanted to numb the pain her mother's presence brought along with it, and this would do it, even if it's just for a little while.

* * *

She felt the weight of his head on her arm before she actually opened her eyes and took in the hospital room she was in.

It was dark out and fairly quiet other than the light footsteps she could hear outside her room so she guessed it was probably late. And he probably snuck in here.

She took her free hand and ran it through his hair as the guilt set in and settled in her stomach.

"How did you know something was wrong?" She whispered after a while. She knew he wasn't really sleeping, because this was Stefan and he wouldn't sleep until he knew she was okay.

And her heart clenched.

"Grams called my mom...said Abby was back" he groaned before he opened his eyes and turned his head to look up at her. "You can't do that again, Bonnie".

"I'm sorry. I just saw her sitting there and I couldn't... **breathe**. I felt like that hopeless kid all over again" she said softly. Her hand was still combing through his hair and she could barely keep her tears at bay, but he squeezed her hand and she smiled at him.

"Why didn't you come to me?" He asked.

"I didn't want to get you in trouble...and I guess I wasn't thinking straight".

"You know my mom would've let you talk to me".

"I know, but you know I wasn't talking about your mom" she said. She was talking about his temper.  And what he would've done.

It was no secret that Stefan hated her parents with a burning passion for all the crap they put her through as a kid, and she knew that if she went to him that afternoon then he would've wanted to confront her mother with nothing she could do to stop him, which would've gotten them both in trouble.

He nodded then, but wouldn't look her in the eye anymore and she knew that something must've happened while she was unconscious.

Something that probably got him in trouble anyway.

"Stefan" she whispered and waited for him to look at her again. When he did she could see it all in his eyes because he really couldn't hide anything from her, and she knew.

"You went to see her, didn't you?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan's POV

"It's Abby. She's back".

That was all Stefan heard his mom say before he bolted for the door without a word.

He knew something wasn't right the moment his mom called him into the living room when he was supposed to be doing his homework. She asked him to sit down and took the seat next to him. Her eyes were begging him to stay calm and be rational, and he knew.

But he waited for her to speak anyway, using up the last of his restraint on her and when she did, he was gone the next second.

"Stefan!" She called out to him as he twisted the door handle and he turned around to look at her.

"Take my car" she said, "It's faster" and she tossed him the keys he easily caught before twisting the handle again and walked out the door.

The drive to Bonnie's house that usually took him ten minutes was instantly cut in half and he jumped out of his mom's car before it fully came to a stop on her driveway.

He could remember the first time he ever did this so clearly in his mind as he walked up the porch steps. Back when he was smaller and his mom was the one to drive him here.

And his heart was beating out of his chest just like it did back then as he twisted to handle and walked through the door.

_"Bonnie" he said quietly as he walked into her room and saw her sitting on her bed. She looked so small, with her legs tucked against her chest and her head resting on her knees._

_She looked up when she heard him calling her name and he saw the tears in her eyes when he walked to the side of the bed._

_"I was trying to keep the monsters away like you said" she told him, her voice shaking. "But you weren't here, and I couldn't do it by myself"._

_"I'm here now and I'm not leaving. It's you and me, Bonnie" he said sincerely as the tears fell down her cheeks and she nodded._

_"It's you and me, forever" she whispered and crawled to the edge of the bed to get to him and she gave him the warmest hug she'd ever give another human being._

_And in that moment he felt her step back from the ledge she was about to jump from._

_When she pulled back again she made room for him on the bed and they laid there side by side, quietly staring at the ceiling._

_When he finally looked at her he saw the tears sliding down the side of her face, going into her ears and he took her hand. That got her attention and she looked at him._

_"They left, Stefan. They left without even saying goodbye, and I don't think they're coming back"._

_Her bottom lip was quivering and when she was done speaking the sob slipped through her lips, so he pulled her to his chest and she cried, clutching onto his shirt._

_And all the pain she was feeling filled her room and he felt it too._

"Stefan!" Sheila yelled again and grabbed onto his shoulders when he tried to get past her to head up to Bonnie's room. When he looked down at her she sighed and she looked tired to him, and worried, but most of all he could see the regret in her eyes because after all that's why Abby was here. She was here because Sheila let her be here.

After all these years and Sheila let her come back here.

"Why would you do this, Grams?" He asked the question before he could stop himself, but he was confused more than he was angry because she was supposed to protect Bonnie from _them._

They were the thing that made her sick and Sheila was supposed to help him protect his best friend from them, and yet Abby was here.

She let go of his shoulders and briefly looked down at the floor so he knew she wasn't going to give him an answer, and he wasn't surprised when she said, "She's not here", instead.

He didn't say another word and walked to the front door to go look for his friend, but when he opened the door he saw _her_ standing there with her hand hanging mid-air as if she was about to open the door herself.

She looked surprised to see him standing there when really he's been here his whole life, and she was the one who was displaced.

"Look how big you've gotten" she finally said after a moment of her just looking at him and he kept a firm grip on the door handle so that his anger wouldn't show on his face.

"Yeah well we weren't going to stop growing just because you weren't around" he said and his voice sounded cold to his own ears. It was a dig and he didn't care that it hurt her.

She averted her eyes and slipped past him to get inside the house, but he stopped her from getting very far by taking her forearm into his hand. She looked up at him and he let go of her arm when he had her full attention.

"I need you to leave my friend alone" he started. "She was okay before you came back here and she will be okay long after you've left again. She will be okay because she has me...she will ALWAYS have me. I'm her family".

He noticed her words get stuck in her throat, but he couldn't stay and offload all the pain she's caused by being a crappy mom.

He had to go and find Bonnie, so he left.

* * *

He found her at The Grill, hunched over at the bar while Matt reached for her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" He heard him ask as he rushed towards them. The panic set in when he noticed the empty glasses on the counter in front of her and he called her name.

"Is this chocolate milk?!" He yelled in Matt's face once he was next to her and could make out what she'd been drinking. She was taking quick shallow breaths as he turned her towards him and took off her glasses. She couldn't see him anyway and she was having trouble breathing too.

"Fuck, Bonnie" he groaned through gritted teeth and picked her up bridal style.

"Stefan, what's wrong with her?" Matt asked and Stefan could hear the fear in his voice before seeing it on his face when he looked at him.

"She's allergic to cocoa. It's pretty serious so I gotta get her to the hospital" he said and made his way to the exit with her in his arms.

They found out about her allergy a few years ago when Stefan decided that chocolate was his favorite and he wanted to have a chocolate cake at his 7th birthday party.

It took one bite of that cake for her to end up at the hospital with the doctor telling them that things could've been a lot worse if they hadn't brought her in when they did.

He still remembered crying over her bed, begging for her forgiveness while she brushed his hair with her fingers saying, _"It's okay, Stefan"._

And it was okay, but he never had chocolate again.

"Can someone help me?!" He asked frantically as he burst through the hospital doors with her in his arms. The nurses were there the next second with a gurney ready for her.

It seemed like they were all speaking at once for a while there and the next second Bonnie was being rolled down the hall and she disappeared around the corner.

"Hey kid. Kid".

It took him a moment to realise he was the kid the woman in front of him was talking to.

"My friend is severly allergic to cocoa" he said. He wasn't sure if she'd asked him a question, but he needed her to know that.

"Her name is Bonnie Bennett".

She nodded and he barely noticed her lead him to an empty seat so he could siy down. "She's going to be okay. We're going to take care of her".

He nodded absently and reached to get his phone from his pocket only to realise it wasn't there. Of course not, because he was still grounded and he forgot to get it from his mom.

"Is there a payphone around here?" He asked the nurse still standing in front of him and she pointed to the exit.

"There's one across the street, but I could call someone for you".

"No. I can do it" he said and got up again. He wasn't sure what she saw on his face, but she placed her hand on his arm and repeated, "She's going to be okay" before he walked out the door.

* * *

"You went to see her, didn't you?" She asked with her hand still brushing his hair just like she did when they were kids.

He'd snuck back into her hospital room so that he would be there for her when she woke up. It was a promise he made a long time ago. That he would never leave her alone.

So he came back.

"I was looking for _you_ " he told her now and she smiled at him and slid along the bed to make room for him. He got in next to her, the feel of her warm skin against his making him sigh in relief and he turned his head to look at her.

She did the same.

"You don't have to say it" she whispered before he could speak, because she knew exactly what he was going to say, because she knew him better than anybody else.

"I know everything is gonna be okay. Because you're with me...and as long as I have _you_ with me, I know I'm doing something right in this life" she said and laid her head on his shoulder. He lifted his arm so that she could lay on his chest instead and they got more comfortable.

"It's you and me, Bonnie Bennett" he whispered into her hair and felt her smile against his chest before she responded softly...

"It's you and me, forever".


	5. Chapter 5

_Two weeks later_

Bonnie didn't think it could be possible for her to resent her grams even more.

Ever since Abby came back to town and decided to insert herself into Bonnie's life she's successfully avoided her at every turn.

If she saw her walking in her direction, she'd make a detour or maybe if she saw her in the living room, kitchen, or in any other room in the house, she would turn around and walk out.

Or she'd just hang out at Stefan's house until she absolutely had to go home.

For two whole weeks she's been successful... _two whole weeks!_

Then her grams cornered her in the kitchen this morning when she made the mistake of not turning around and walking out again when she saw them sitting around the counter having breakfast like she usually did.

Really, it was her own fault...

And when Abby's greeting fell on deaf ears as she headed for the cereal, Sheila got on her feet turned to look at Bonnie's back saying, "Bonnie Sheila Bennett, you mother said good morning".

When she turned around she saw the reprimanding look on her face. The same look that clearly said that she's reached her limit and refused to be their buffer anymore.

So Bonnie sighed and with her eyes still on her grams she mumbled a good morning to Abby.

"Good, now sit down".

She didn't argue and sat down between them with her cereal.

"I made some chocolate chip pancakes. If you'd like I could dish you some" Abby said and Bonnie's hand froze around her spoon as she stiffened in anger.  
  
Oh yeah.

Her mother didn't know about her allergy...she hasn't been around to know, and the realisation settled around the table as Grams said, "Bonnie's allergic to Cocoa. She can't have chocolate".

"Oh".

Yeah, _Oh_.

At least she had the decency to look ashamed of herself.

"May I be excused?" She asked her grams. She suddenly lost her appetite so there was no point sitting here and pretending everything was okay when it wasn't.

"You haven't touched your food, baby".

"I'm not hungry".

Sheila hesitated, but nodded anyway. She knew she's pushed her boundaries enough for one morning, but it didn't stop her from saying "I'll be working all day so I need you two to go do the groceries today. Together".

_I'll know if you don't._

"Can Stefan come with?"

"Stefan's working with his dad today you know that" she replied and Bonnie almost smacked her head.

Crap!

She forgot.

For one Saturday a month Stefan always had to go work in his dad's company so he could gain the experience he needed to run the place some day and he would always blow up her phone complaining about how much he hated it.

She probably got a text already, but her phone was upstairs so she could only get to it later.

Another thing she was that her grams waited two whole weeks to ask them to 'do the groceries'...and she picked the day she wouldn't have Stefan to hide behind...because she planned this.

And all she could do was groan internally as she repeated, "May I be excused?"

"Go ahead, baby".

* * *

She was staring out the window at the passing houses as they drove to the grocery store when her phone vibrated.

She flipped it over in her hands to look at the text from Stefan and she smiled a little.

_What do you think we'd be doing right now if we were together?_

**_Prank calling your brother._ **

_Play on his fear of authority to knock him down a peg. I like it, Bennett._

_**What can I say? I'm a lab accident away from being the perfect supervillian.** _

_😂😂😂 And where will I be?_

_**You'll be by my side, of course. We'll rule the world together.** _

He didn't respond for a moment and her heart sank as she wondered if his dad called him back to work.

She wasn't ready to get back to awkwardly staring out the window while Abby kept stealing glances at her as she drove in silence.

But then it came...

_I miss you. I don't want to be here. I'd rather be with you._

They pulled up in front of the only grocery store in town and she let out a heavy sigh as she texted back.

_**Me too...** _

She stuffed her phone in her pocket and got out the car.

She might as well get this over with.

* * *

"I'm sorry...about this morning" Abby finally broke the silence as she glabbed the milk off the shelf and placed it in the cart. "I didn't know you were allergic".

She went for the whole wheat bread in the next aisle and left her mother alone.

She couldn't get away from her for too long though because she was next her again all too soon as she grabbed cinnamon rolls.

She'd stuff her face with those later.

"I can't believe how much Stefan has grown, I mean, both of you...have grown so much".

She noticed Abby's smile in the corner of her eye, but turned and headed to the butchery.

Abby followed her and kept talking, trying to fill the silence. "And he's **so** protective of you".

She turned to her.

She adjusted her glasses as she looked at her closely.

It's the first time since she saw her sitting on the couch two weeks ago and she could see the guilt and sadness in her eyes as she looked back at her.

It seemed to be weighing down on her, which probably explained why she was trying so hard.

But the longer Bonnie looked at her the less she recognised this woman. She didn't look the same as the woman she remembered in her head, the woman she knew now was nothing but a figment of her imagination.

She didn't exist...and Abby wasn't her.

And she wasn't going to talk to her about Stefan so she needed her to drop the subject right now.

So she snapped, telling her to "Stop".

Then she brushed past her to get to the butchery.

* * *

She almost jumped out of her skin when she found him sleeping on her bed as she opened her bedroom door later that day, but remembered that his dad only let him work half days before letting him leave.

He was still in his shirt and slacks so his dad probably dropped him off here without going home first, which explained why his car wasn't in the driveway.

She would've been back sooner, but after their eventful shopping trip Abby made her spend an extra hour with her eating lunch at the grill, but luckily for her Matt was working today so she spent the whole time talking to him.

After their meal Abby finally gave up and brought her home so here she was...

Standing at her door watching her best friend sleep on her bed and it brought a smile to her face because she's been wanting to see him all day, and now here he was waiting for her...because he wanted to see her too.

She let out a tired breath and walked into her room, quietly closing the door behind her.

She kicked off her shoes and took off her glasses before she climbed onto the bed next to him.

His arm went around her waist and she snuggled closer to him, burying her head in his chest.

And she breathed in.

"Are you smelling me?" He mumbled in amusement and when she looked up his eyes were still closed.

"What's it to you?"

He opened his eyes then and looked into hers.

"It's only fair I know what I smell like don't you think?"

"You smell like hard labor and regret".

He chuckled and buried his head into her neck, taking in her scent and he pulled back to say "You smell like resentment and sadness".

"Sounds about right" she said softly and her voice caught in her throat.

His smile slipped, but he didn't respond. Instead he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear with his eyes still staring into hers and her heart was exposed to him.

It's been this way for as long as she could remember.

And she couldn't hide a single thing from him, neither could he.

"It's okay" he said, "You're with me now".

She silently lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck while she buried her head in his neck.

She felt him tighten his grip around her waist, pulling her even closer and they stayed like that.

She felt safe with him...she felt like nothing could hurt her.

But later that night, afterStefan had gone back home and she was left alone again she was proven so very wrong, because Abby could hurt her.

In their kitchen in the middle of the night when realised she hadn't eaten since that afternoon, Abby hurt her like she always did.

"Would you like to sit?"

It was a simple question Bonnie chose to ignore just like all the other times she's tried to talk to her.

And it was what set her off.

"You can't ignore me forever. I'm here, Bonnie. Can you see me? I'm here!"

She was in front her as she yelled in her face and Bonnie only shook her head and walked out of the kitchen with her plate of food.

Ignoring her.

Abby caught up to her by the staircase and grabbed her arm to twist her around and force her to look at her.

The plate hit the floor and shattered from the momentum.

But Abby repeated,

"Can you **_see_** me?!"

"Can _you_ see me?! I'm here!! I've been here...my **_WHOLE_** life! And where were _you_ , mom?!" Her voice shook and she couldn't look at the woman in front of her any longer.

Her tears clouded her vision as she looked at her slippers. They fell the next moment and hit the floor as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"You were supposed to be there for me" she said and looked up at her again, "That was your job...you failed at your job".

"Bonnie..."

"I don't want to hear it". She wiped her tears away and lifted her chin up. She wasn't that broken little girl anymore. "I just want to go to sleep".

When Abby didn't say anything else Bonnie turned around and made her way up the stairs.

This day sucked and she was going to bed hungry or not.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and a kudos. If you wanna. No pressure.


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